There are a wave of proposals to improve rail safety in Washington following a series of high-profile train derailments around the country.

One such proposal comes from Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who is still searching for answers after a train derailed in his district in April. Four employees received minor injuries and two cars went into the Mississippi River in the incident. 

What You Need To Know

  • There are a wave of proposals to improve rail safety in Washington following a series of high-profile train derailments around the country

  • One such proposal comes from Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who is still searching for answers after a train derailed in his district in April

  • His legislation, the Railroad Inspector Safety Act, would provide an additional $3 million a year to the NTSB to add 15 more rail investigators

  • Last month, a Senate committee advanced legislation sponsored by Ohio Sens. J.D. Vance, a Republican, and Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, requiring stronger regulations for trains in the wake of the following the toxic train derailment in East Palestine

Van Orden told Spectrum News on Friday that he's still waiting for the investigation to wrap before speaking on the incident further, but conversations he's had related to the derailment -- particularly one with National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy -- inspired a bill he introduced in Congress last week.

He said he asked Homendy "what can we do from a congressional perspective to help prevent these things and to also give people confidence in the intermodal transportation of goods ... by railroad." 

"She said we need more inspectors," Van Orden recounted to Spectrum News. His legislation, the Railroad Inspector Safety Act, would provide an additional $3 million a year to the NTSB to add 15 more rail investigators. 

"People need to get the information in a timely manner. And how we're going to do that is by getting more inspectors," said Van Orden. "And I don't know anybody that could possibly vote against this ... it makes absolute sense."

Last month, a Senate committee advanced legislation sponsored by Ohio Sens. J.D. Vance, a Republican, and Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, requiring stronger regulations for trains in the wake of the following the toxic train derailment in East Palestine.

The bill, known as the Railway Safety Act of 2023, would establish new safety standards for trains carrying hazardous materials, including notifying state officials ahead of time that a train is coming; strengthen inspections and scans of trains; require two-person crews on each train; increase the fines imposed on rail companies that do wrong; and expand federal funding for rail infrastructure and grants to train first responders.

The White House has been supportive of the Ohio lawmakers' proposal, with Senate Democratic leadership also encouraging swift passage of the measure, but the toughest challenge could be passing the Republican-controlled House.

Spectrum News' Taylor Popielarz contributed to this report.